09 Feb How to Buy an Engagement Ring on a Budget in San Diego
Seen Above: A custom diamond engagement ring by C. Blackburn Jewelers, set with a 1.5 carat oval diamond.
You have decided the time is right to ask the biggest question of your life. But now, in making what will probably be the biggest jewelry purchase of your life, you’re wondering how to make the most of your ring budget.
No one wants to be cheap when it comes to an engagement ring, but the reality is that buying an engagement ring is a big financial decision, and should be considered carefully.
As a San Diego custom jeweler and estate jeweler, C. Blackburn Jewelers helps couples stretch their engagement ring dollars, so that they can create or purchase the most beautiful ring possible within their budget.
There are a number of affordable engagement ring ideas to consider, so in the following article, we’ll cover the best ones and try to help you buy an unforgettable engagement ring without breaking the bank.
What is an Affordable Engagement Ring?
“Affordable” will mean very different things to people with different incomes and different financial situations. Setting a budget is a personal decision, but once you have set your budget, stick to it. Try to compare only rings within your price range.
Affordable Solitaire Engagement Rings
The diamond solitaire is the most popular and traditional engagement ring choice, but a single big diamond can easily break your budget.
When looking for a previously-owned solitaire ring, the best bargains are always for complete, refurbished rings. However, when buying a brand new solitaire engagement ring from a showcase, it is usually better to shop for the stone and the setting separately.
If you work with a San Diego jewelry designer like Carl Blackburn, the stone and setting will be discussed in tandem, so you can be sure of maximizing your ring budget.
Before buying your lady’s ring, you’ll need to educate yourself a bit about diamonds, and plan to spend some time researching and shopping around. Then consider the metal you’d like for the ring itself.
Platinum is heavier and more durable than gold, but it is also more expensive. Fourteen carat gold engagement rings are more affordable, and will endure constant wear well. If yellow gold isn’t your fiancé’s color, you can opt for white gold.
Note that white gold is made by mixing yellow gold with a white alloy like nickel, and then plating it with rhodium to make the ring white. The rhodium plating may wear off every six months, leaving the ring looking slightly yellow.
One way to counter this is to get a white gold ring that has been mixed with a high percentage of palladium that ensures the metal stays white even after the plating wears off. However, this option is ordinarily available only when buying a brand new engagement ring, as previously-owned ones are difficult to find.
Choosing a Diamond: The Affordable Four Cs
Diamonds are graded using the famous “4Cs” criteria – color, cut, clarity, and carat weight, and with one important exception, each category has its own sweet spot for affordability.
Color in diamonds is actually a lack of color – the perfect diamond would have no hue at all. Color grades range alphabetically from D (colorless) to Z (yellow). With the naked eye it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between a diamond rated G and one rated D, so any diamond in the G to J range is a good choice.
The cut of a diamond ultimately determines its brilliance, fire, and overall beauty, and is graded from Excellent to Very Good, Good, Fair, and finally, Poor. As you can probably guess, cut is the one “C” you really shouldn’t compromise on when buying a diamond. Save money on the other categories and get the best cut you can afford.
Clarity refers to imperfections in a diamond, but for affordability, the only imperfections that should concern you are the ones visible to the naked eye. For round brilliant diamonds, a clarity rating in the VS1-VS2 range, (Very Slight inclusions), is typically clean to the eye. Diamonds rated SI1 (Slight Inclusions) are sometimes clean to the eye, but the SI2 rating is very rarely clean to the eye, so SI1 is probably a good place to start.
The final “C,” carat weight, is simply the weight of the diamond. Here the tip is to look for a stone that weighs slightly less than the next 1/2 carat weight. For example, a .49 carat diamond will cost noticeably less than a .50 carat diamond, and substantial savings can be had by purchasing a .99 carat diamond versus a 1 carat diamond.
Choosing a Lab Grown Diamond
For those looking to maximize their budget without compromising on size or quality, San Diego lab grown diamonds offer an excellent alternative. These diamonds have the same physical, chemical, and optical properties as natural diamonds but are created in a controlled environment, making them significantly more affordable.
When choosing a lab grown diamond, apply the same 4Cs criteria used for natural diamonds. Since lab created diamonds often have fewer inclusions and a more consistent color, you can prioritize cut quality to ensure maximum brilliance.
Lab diamonds can save you up to 80% compared to the price of mined diamonds of the same quality, allowing buyers to opt for a larger or higher-graded stone within the same budget. When purchasing, ensure that your lab grown diamond comes with a certification from a reputable gemological laboratory such as IGI (International Gemological Institute) or GIA (Gemological Institute of America) to confirm its quality and authenticity.
Alternative Diamond Shapes
Another way to save money on an engagement ring without sacrificing beauty is by choosing a fancy-shaped diamond instead of a traditional round brilliant cut. Shapes such as oval, pear, marquise, cushion, and emerald cuts often cost less per carat than round diamonds while offering a distinctive and elegant look.
Certain shapes, like oval and marquise, also have the advantage of appearing larger than their actual carat weight due to their elongated shape, giving you more visual impact for your money. Additionally, step-cut diamonds like emerald and Asscher cuts tend to emphasize clarity over brilliance, which means you can choose a stone with a slightly lower clarity grade without sacrificing its overall appeal.
By exploring alternative diamond shapes, you can find a stunning engagement ring that stands out while also staying within your budget.
Affordable Multi-Diamond Engagement Rings
Smaller diamonds are less expensive than bigger diamonds – buying the same total carat weight in a single stone is almost always more expensive than buying many smaller stones. While not as traditional as the diamond solitaire, multi-stone engagement rings can be a great option, especially for an active woman who doesn’t want a big solitaire catching on everything she’s near.
If you still want to highlight a single diamond, consider a halo setting. This setting features smaller stones surrounding a center stone, and will actually make the center stone seem bigger.
Alternatives to Diamonds for Affordable Engagement Rings
While diamonds are the most common gemstones for engagement rings, they are not the only option. Many modern couples are turning to colored stones like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds (although emeralds are a fragile choice for a daily wear ring like an engagement ring).
Often you can purchase a truly stunning colored stone for the same price as a much smaller diamond. And diamonds can still be part of the setting. Many affordable engagement rings feature a large colored stone surrounded by smaller diamonds.
Some brides-to-be might even prefer to have their birthstone in their engagement ring. At C. Blackburn Jewelers are top 3 picks for semi-precious gemstones most suitable for engagement rings are:
Shopping Vintage for an Affordable Engagement Ring
If you have access to a family ring, you may be able to have the diamond placed in a new setting, or even have a new diamond or other gemstone placed in a vintage setting. Resetting an heirloom piece is a very personal decision, and sometimes purely sentimental attachment dictates whether you can modify the ring at all.
You also might consider shopping for a vintage engagement ring at an estate sale or antique mall. However, you’ll need to have a basic education, and try to find reputable dealers who will back their pieces up with authenticity guarantees and a return policy.
Buying an engagement ring at a pawn shop can be a good option for purchasing less expensive diamond rings under $1000, but for diamond rings higher than that, you should look for pawn shops that have the words “Jewelry & Loan” in their titles, as they tend to be more knowledgeable in jewelry than pawn shops that deal in TVs, bicycles, tools, etc.
If you do start exploring places like pawn shops, antique malls, and estate sales (or online sites like eBay and Craigslist), be sure to take stock of the person you are dealing with and their credentials.
Think of it like buying a used car. Unless you’re a mechanic or a used car dealer, you would not want to buy a used car off of Craigslist without having it looked at first. It’s no different with a diamond engagement ring. You will want to be dealing with a professional jeweler (preferably a GIA graduate) to verify that the diamond is okay, and ring is worth what the seller is asking for it.
Repurposing Diamonds from Another Ring
One way that you can dramatically reduce the cost of your engagement ring is to use the diamonds set in another ring that you might own. Perhaps you have inherited a diamond ring from a family member, or you have a right-hand diamond ring that you plan not to wear after you get engaged and married.
C. Blackburn Jewelers can take the diamonds and gemstones from other rings or jewelry that you own, and set them into your new engagement ring. This is a very popular option when the lady has inherited a ring or jewelry from her mother or grandmother, and wants to honor their memory by setting the gemstones into her engagement ring.
Learn more about how C. Blackburn Jewelers transforms old jewelry and gemstones into new jewelry in our article: Repurposing Heirloom Jewelry in San Diego.
Contact Us Now
At C. Blackburn Jewelry, we not only create custom engagement rings for our clients. We are professional estate jewelers. Our owner Carl Blackburn has decades of experience in the buying and selling of previously-owned engagement rings from the world’s most sought-after bridal jewelry brands.
Whether you would like to create a budget friendly custom engagement ring or buy a vintage engagement ring to be refurbished like new, we can help you make the most of your engagement ring budget in San Diego.
Call us at 858-251-3006 to set up an appointment or send us a text message at 619-723-8589 to let us know how we can help.
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